Volkswagen is rapidly expanding its line-up of electric vehicles, recently passing 500,000 sales of battery-electric cars a year ahead of schedule. But the firm’s newest EV is perhaps its most unusual yet: it’s an office chair. Really.
Yes, it’s an official Volkswagen-developed office chair that features a built-in motor offering a top speed of 12.4mph and a range of 7.5 miles from a removable battery, which should be enough to lap even the largest workplace several times.
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The one-off machine has been developed by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Norway for reasons we can’t entirely fathom, but we’re very glad they did. It is intended to pack in many of the feature seen in VW’s commercial vehicles – such as the new Volkswagen ID Buzz – so it has built-in LED lights, driver assistance features and even a loudspeaker and infotainment system, for those points when work just gets too boring.
The lights can be used for illumination, but also work as multi-coloured party lights to brighten up your office Christmas bash. There’s also a rear-view camera so you won’t back into the boss when reversing, and 360-degree sensors to provide further safety. Oh, and there’s a horn, so you can ensure your colleagues will know you’re coming.
The chair has a built-in heater and touch display, and is covered in a luxury finish that has a VW logo embossed into it. Meanwhile, the five wheels are finished with neat 4in aluminium wheels. Only two of the wheels power the machine, but given the chair is intended for office use you shouldn’t exactly be using it to tackle much in the way of rough terrain.
There’s also a 0.005m3 boot, which can be used to store a laptop if not a weekly shop. But if you need a lot of documents for a meeting there’s a trailer hitch so you can tow a trailer.
It sounds exciting, but we do have some bad news. First, Volkswagen Norway insist the machine is purely a one-off. And while it will be offering a limited number of test drive opportunities, they will only be offered in Norway – although that might not be a total deterrent to you in an era of remote working.
Still, Volkswagen is working on a new entry-level EV that will arrive around 2025 as the starting point to its ID line-up. It likely won’t be quite as compact as the office chair, but will offer extra seats, more storage, extra range and power and a roof.
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